Picture Credit: Twitter
After China backed out from hosting the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, South Korea are gearing up to launch the bid for hosting the quadrennial men’s event. The Korean Football Association on Monday said that they would like to proceed with the application of the bid after their sports minister gave a go-ahead last week. Notably, the premier continental club was scheduled to be played in China next year but the country backed out with COVID-19 concerns.
"The Korea Football Association is promoting the bid for the '2023 AFC Asian Cup' hosted by the AFC in Korea," KFA said in a notice on their website. "Therefore, we would like to proceed with the application for bid from local governments that have stadiums that can host international games, such as domestic soccer-only stadiums and general sports grounds.”
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) invited bids to stage the 2023 Asian Cup last month, saying interested parties must confirm their bid by June 30. South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol gave the go-ahead for a push to host the finals earlier this month, ordering his sports minister to try to secure the event.
India qualify with high hopes
Notably, the 2023 AFC Asian Cup will be the 18th edition of the quadrennial international men's football championship. It will be held from 16 June to 16 July 2023 and will involve 24 national teams after its expansion of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, including that of the host nation. India have also qualified for the tournament for the second consecutive edition.
The Men in Blue topped Group D in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifier as they won all their three games. The Sunil Chhetri-led team beat Cambodia, Afghanistan, and Hong Kong to end their Qualifiers campaign on a high. Now they have high hopes for themselves at the big tournament. All eyes will be on the veteran captain Sunil Chhetri who just bettered his international goal tally by equalling Hungarian striker Ferenc Puskas (84 international goals).